Page 5 of Gage

I wassurprised they recognized me, let alone remembered me after all this time. The familiarity of their faces brought back a flood of memories I wasn’t prepared for. But there wasn’t time to dwell on the past.

We’d been in the air for about an hour when the plane started to shake, a low rumble building into an ominous vibration. My stomach clenched. This wasn’t ordinary turbulence—it was something worse.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and made my way to the cockpit, bracing myself against the walls as the plane jolted. Raven was hunched over the controls, his fingers tapping the unresponsive panel, frustration etched across his face.

“You’ll need to find a place to land,” I said, urgency sharpening my tone. “We’ve got maybe fifteen minutes before we start falling out of the sky. The fuel’s fine, but the wires in the panel must’ve been damaged when something hit us. Did you see where it hit?”

Raven didn’t look up. “Yeah, I think something struck right under the nose,” he replied, his voice tight.

“That’s not going to help,” I added as he tapped the panel again. “I’ll have to rewire it, but that can only happen once we land.”

“All right,” he said, exhaling slowly. “Let’s start looking for a spot to land.”

“I’ll stay up here with you while Oliver and Gage sit with the women. I can keep an eye on the panel,” I offered, scanning the flickering controls.

“Have you ever rewired a plane panel before?” Gage asked as he passed behind me, his tone skeptical but not dismissive.

“No,” I admitted with a smirk. “But I know wiring. Don’t ask me how—I just do. My dad says I’ve been taking things apart and putting them back together since I was three. I drove him and my mom crazy.”

“Buckle up. This is going to be a crash landing,” Gage said, his expression grim as he turned to the back.

“I will,” I replied, turning to Raven. “You buckle up, too.”

The shaking worsened, and the hum of the engines took on an unsettling whine. My eyes scanned the horizon, desperate for something—anything—that could serve as a landing spot.

“What’s that over there?” I asked, pointing toward a faint stretch of flat terrain. “It looks like a small landing strip.”

Relief flickered across Raven’s face as he adjusted the plane’s course. “Good eye,” he muttered.

The front of the plane began to rattle violently, a sound that felt like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere. Suddenly, the panel went dark. My heart leapt into my throat.

“You have to land it now!” I shouted, gripping the edge of the seat. “Hang on, everyone!”

I sent up a silent prayer.Lord, please keep us safe. My family needs me.

“The landing gear isn’t going down—wait, there it goes,” Raven said, relief and tension battling in his voice. “This will be rough. Hang on tight.”

The plane hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud, skidding across the uneven strip. Metal groaned, and the cabin lurched violently to the side before grinding to a halt. For a moment, silence enveloped us, broken only by the faint crackle of the cooling engines.

Raven and I sat in stunned disbelief before laughter bubbled out of us, shaky and tinged with relief. We hugged briefly, the adrenaline draining from our systems.

When we walked to the back, everyone was still seated, their faces pale and wide-eyed. The tension in the cabin was thick, but no one spoke. Outside, the sun was sinking fast, painting the sky in deep orange and purple hues.

“Let’s get some rest,” Raven suggested, his voice cutting through the quiet. “We’ll start repairs in the morning. We’ve got plenty of food. Do you think you can fix it in a couple of days?” he asked, glancing at me.

“Yeah,” I replied, nodding. “It shouldn’t take long.”

I slept fitfully,the events of the day replaying in my mind. An hour later, I woke with a start, my thoughts consumed by the wiring issue. Slipping out of my seat, I made my way to the cockpit. The dim light from my flashlight illuminated the controls as I crouched down to inspect the panel. Gage had left out some tools for me, neatly arranged on the console.

The panel inside looked fine—too fine. My stomach sank as realization dawned: the main wiring panel was outside. Therewas nothing I could do until daylight. With a sigh, I leaned back in the seat and let my eyes drift shut.

I woke to the feeling of being watched. Blinking groggily, I turned to find Gage sitting in the other seat, his sharp eyes fixed on me.

“Good morning,” I said, my voice still heavy with sleep.

“Good morning,” he replied, his tone even. “I took the panel off under the front end. I remembered seeing the wires there before. Figured that’s why you stopped working last night.”

“Thank you,” I said, surprised by his thoughtfulness. “This panel looks fine, but I’ll need replacement wires. Do we have any extras?”

---